Chapter 20 of Tom Fairfield at Sea is here in full — 123 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter XX
Chapter 20 of Tom Fairfield at Sea is here in full — 123 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
DAYS OF SUFFERING “Does she leak any?” asked Joe anxiously. He was up forward, attending to the sail, while Abe was at the helm. “A few drops coming in,” replied the other sailor. “But nothing to speak of. She’ll swell up when she’s been in the water a while, and be as tight as a drum.”
Chapter 20 of Tom Fairfield at Sea is here in full — 123 sentences across 25 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/24 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
the process whereby a person concentrates on some features of the environment to the (relative) exclusion of others
From this reading “He was up forward, attending to the sail, while Abe was at the helm.”
plural of “drop” — a shape that is spherical and small
From this reading ““A few drops coming in,” replied the other sailor.”
a musical percussion instrument; usually consists of a hollow cylinder with a membrane stretched across each end
From this reading “She’ll swell up when she’s been in the water a while, and be as tight as a drum.””
steering mechanism for a vessel; a mechanical device by which a vessel is steered
From this reading “He was up forward, attending to the sail, while Abe was at the helm.”
an accidental hole that allows something (fluid or light etc.) to enter or escape
From this reading “DAYS OF SUFFERING “Does she leak any?” asked Joe anxiously.”
any member of a ship's crew
From this reading ““A few drops coming in,” replied the other sailor.”
increase in size, magnitude, number, or intensity
From this reading “She’ll swell up when she’s been in the water a while, and be as tight as a drum.””
closely constrained or constricted or constricting
From this reading “She’ll swell up when she’s been in the water a while, and be as tight as a drum.””
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “He was up forward, attending to the sail, while Abe was at the helm.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading “A few drops coming in,” replied the other sailor.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading He was up forward, attending to the sail, while Abe was at the helm.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading She’ll swell up when she’s been in the water a while, and be as tight as a drum.”
with anxiety or apprehension
From this reading DAYS OF SUFFERING “Does she leak any?” asked Joe anxiously.
one or some or every or all without specification
From this reading DAYS OF SUFFERING “Does she leak any?” asked Joe anxiously.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading She’ll swell up when she’s been in the water a while, and be as tight as a drum.”
past form of “ask” — make a request or demand for something to somebody
From this reading DAYS OF SUFFERING “Does she leak any?” asked Joe anxiously.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading He was up forward, attending to the sail, while Abe was at the helm.
the process whereby a person concentrates on some features of the environment to the (relative) exclusion of others
From this reading He was up forward, attending to the sail, while Abe was at the helm.
used with a past participle to form the passive, or with -ing for continuous tenses
From this reading She’ll swell up when she’s been in the water a while, and be as tight as a drum.”
the past participle of “be”
From this reading She’ll swell up when she’s been in the water a while, and be as tight as a drum.”
used to introduce something that contrasts with what came before
From this reading “But nothing to speak of.
the act of drawing spatially closer to something
From this reading “A few drops coming in,” replied the other sailor.
the time during which someone's life continues
From this reading DAYS OF SUFFERING “Does she leak any?” asked Joe anxiously.
the form of “do” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading DAYS OF SUFFERING “Does she leak any?” asked Joe anxiously.
plural of “drop” — a shape that is spherical and small
From this reading “A few drops coming in,” replied the other sailor.
a musical percussion instrument; usually consists of a hollow cylinder with a membrane stretched across each end
From this reading She’ll swell up when she’s been in the water a while, and be as tight as a drum.”
a quantifier that can be used with count nouns and is often preceded by “a”; a small but indefinite number
From this reading “A few drops coming in,” replied the other sailor.
at or to or toward the front
From this reading He was up forward, attending to the sail, while Abe was at the helm.
a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading He was up forward, attending to the sail, while Abe was at the helm.
steering mechanism for a vessel; a mechanical device by which a vessel is steered
From this reading He was up forward, attending to the sail, while Abe was at the helm.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading “A few drops coming in,” replied the other sailor.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading DAYS OF SUFFERING “Does she leak any?” asked Joe anxiously.
an accidental hole that allows something (fluid or light etc.) to enter or escape
From this reading DAYS OF SUFFERING “Does she leak any?” asked Joe anxiously.
not one thing; not anything
From this reading “But nothing to speak of.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading DAYS OF SUFFERING “Does she leak any?” asked Joe anxiously.
not the same one or ones already mentioned or implied
From this reading “A few drops coming in,” replied the other sailor.
inflected form of “reply” — react verbally
From this reading “A few drops coming in,” replied the other sailor.
traverse or travel on (a body of water)
From this reading He was up forward, attending to the sail, while Abe was at the helm.
any member of a ship's crew
From this reading “A few drops coming in,” replied the other sailor.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading DAYS OF SUFFERING “Does she leak any?” asked Joe anxiously.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She’ll swell up when she’s been in the water a while, and be as tight as a drum.”
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading She’ll swell up when she’s been in the water a while, and be as tight as a drum.”
express in speech
From this reading “But nothing to speak of.
a state of acute pain
From this reading DAYS OF SUFFERING “Does she leak any?” asked Joe anxiously.
increase in size, magnitude, number, or intensity
From this reading She’ll swell up when she’s been in the water a while, and be as tight as a drum.”
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading He was up forward, attending to the sail, while Abe was at the helm.
closely constrained or constricted or constricting
From this reading She’ll swell up when she’s been in the water a while, and be as tight as a drum.”
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading He was up forward, attending to the sail, while Abe was at the helm.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading He was up forward, attending to the sail, while Abe was at the helm.
the past form of “be” used with I, he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading He was up forward, attending to the sail, while Abe was at the helm.
binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
From this reading She’ll swell up when she’s been in the water a while, and be as tight as a drum.”
at the time that
From this reading She’ll swell up when she’s been in the water a while, and be as tight as a drum.”
during the time that
From this reading He was up forward, attending to the sail, while Abe was at the helm.
Chapter 20 of Tom Fairfield at Sea by Allen Chapman holds 123 sentences, grouped into 25 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 20 holds 123 sentences of Tom Fairfield at Sea, unabridged, divided into 25 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 20 of Tom Fairfield at Sea by Allen Chapman exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 123 sentences, grouped into 25 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 25 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 25 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 20 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading Tom Fairfield at Sea by Allen Chapman on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3269 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #44013 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #44013, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 272 minutes of reading across 654 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Tom Fairfield at Sea section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 25 chapters of Tom Fairfield at Sea to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Tom Fairfield at Sea, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
